CHARLOTTESVILLE — Judging from tight end Zachary Swanson's description of his dripping jersey after practices, Virginia's off week wasn't a study in rest and relaxation, which makes sense given everything U.Va. had to work on.

U.Va. (1-1) had a lot to get done on the offensive side of the ball in terms of trying to determine an identity, which is why coach Mike London said he wanted to make getting the running game in gear a priority. But running the ball hasn't been U.Va.'s only offensive deficiency.

"All I know from these practices over the bye week was they were tough," Swanson said. "They were like camp-style, and I was soaked after practice. They were tough practices. It was not running around in helmets."

After games against solid defenses from Brigham Young and Oregon, nothing about U.Va.'s offense stood out as something it can rely on, which is a problem. Through two games, the big play in U.Va.'s passing game has been absent.

U.Va. has fewer completions of 15 or more yards (two) than any Football Bowl Subdivision team in the nation. That's three fewer than the next closest teams.

U.Va., which hosts Virginia Military Institute (1-2) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, is one of only two FBS teams in the nation without a completion of 25 or more yards. East Carolina is the other.

Darius Jennings has U.Va.'s longest reception of the season — a 20-yarder against BYU. No other pass-catcher has a reception of more than 16 yards.

Tight end Jake McGee leads the team with 11 catches for 62 yards, but his longest catch has gone for 11 yards. Quarterback David Watford, a Hampton High graduate, is averaging just 3.8 yards per pass attempt and 5.9 yards per completion.

"We spent a lot of time getting those receivers down field throwing the ball to them," said coach Mike London of U.Va.'s approach during the off week. "So, if we can do that — you can have a quarterback that can run and kind of also fit into your style of offense — then, you have opportunities.

"I think when you play against two really good football teams that you're going to have to find that type of identity sooner than later."

In U.Va.'s 59-10 loss to No. 2 Oregon, Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota passed for 199 yards and ran for 122 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown. While London did not indicate U.Va. will dramatically evolve from a pro-style to a read-option-based offense, he definitely took notice of what Mariota was able to get done.

London would like to see some of that versatility from Watford. Yet, on the few occasions Watford has run thus far, it's been to elude the rush as opposed to designed running plays. Of his 18 credited runs, only three have gone for more than 3 yards, including his longest of 10 yards. He's been sacked twice.

"I think David is a guy that can run the ball," London said. "I think that's something coming out of these two games against two good teams that in order to go forward, he's going to have to have the type of impact for defensive coordinators while they're game planning. We all know trying to devise a game plan for Mariota, guys that are mobile — it can cause some issues for you.

"We're going to empower (Watford) to [make some of his own decisions] and let him use some of his athletic ability."

While U.Va. spent its off week trying to develop ways to open up a unit that's 118th out of 123 FBS programs in total offense (260.5 yards per game), it did manage to get some of its most important offensive pieces healthy.

Running backs Kevin Parks, Khalek Shepherd and Taquan Mizzell all had sprained ankles coming out of the Oregon game, but London said Monday they were all out of protective boots and should be ready to go for VMI, which lost 37-24 on Saturday to Division II North Greenville. He also expected the rest of his team to be in good health for the game.

"The first thing we want to deal with is ourselves," London said. "We'll give our opponent this week the attention they deserve, but at the same time we're going into a stretch of playing, and then we go on the road for Pittsburgh.

"Now, everyone sees the stretch here in September and going into October and what's going to be required for us to be successful."

As far as Virginia defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta is concerned, he's studied just about every offensive scheme that's centered around putting playmakers all over the field and making defenses get as far-flung as possible.

CHARLOTTESVILLE — By the time No. 2 Oregon was done dismantling Virginia 59-10 on Saturday, there was a sense U.Va. had enough mistakes to review and inefficiencies to correct to keep them busy for longer than just the upcoming off week.

Just before the start of the football season, discussions about getting the running game back in gear were all the rage in Charlottesville. It was a topic that made Virginia's expected standouts' pulses race.

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Admirably and quite inaccurately, David Watford shouldered the blame. One touchdown in 16 possessions? Four turnovers and no downfield passing game? Anemic rushing for the second time in as many games?

As trainers carted Jerry Ugokwe off the Unitas Stadium field last November, William and Mary football coach Jimmye Laycock couldn't avoid the thought: His team's entire starting offensive line, a group with so much promise and youth, was wiped out by injury.